This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Opposition attacks on Bill Morneau veer into character assassination territory

By pivoting from public policy to personal politics, the Conservatives have made the finance minister the issue rather than the government or its policies — and exposed some of their own longstanding vulnerabilities, Chantal Hébert writes.

A Conservative MP was booted from the House of Commons Thursday in the wake of heated exchanges between the Opposition and the finance minister. The Tories continued to grill Bill Morneau with questions over stock sales. (The Canadian Press)

MONTREAL—Over the nine weeks of the fall sitting of Parliament, the Conservative official Opposition has devoted no less than 15 questions daily to matters pertaining to Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Monday’s question period unfolded on the same theme.

That works out to more than 600 questions over the space of less than three months. That total does not include the NDP contributions to the same discussion.

No recent federal finance minister has come under fire for such a prolonged period of time. Indeed, rarely has a minister — federal or provincial — lasted so long on the hot seat.

Over the weeks, the Conservative line of attack has pivoted from a debate over Morneau’s poorly communicated plan to tighten the tax rules governing private corporations to the ethics of the minister.

By last week — with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer formally calling for the minister’s head — the opposition rhetoric had veered into character assassination territory. Morneau may be too politically clueless for the good of his government, but it is a leap too far to imply — as the official Opposition has taken to doing — that he is dishonest.

Article Continued Below

The Conservatives say they are building a compelling case that Justin Trudeau leads an elitist ethically challenged government. They have to believe they are playing the long game for there is so far scant evidence that the strategy is paying off.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer makes a point during question period on Nov. 29. With Scheer formally calling for the finance minister's head last week, the opposition rhetoric has veered into character assassination territory, Chantal Hebert writes. (ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO)

In October, Scheer lost a Quebec seat the party had held for a decade under Stephen Harper. The Liberal victory in Lac-St-Jean is in line with the provincial trend. A Léger Marketing poll published on Monday in Le Devoir pegged Trudeau’s Liberals at 47 per cent in voting intentions, almost 30 points ahead of the Conservatives in Quebec.

The Morneau saga has had the most traction in the English-speaking media. And the voters who are paying attention do tend to think poorly of the finance minister.

Yet it is Scheer and not Trudeau who is bracing for another bad by-election night when the voters of South Surrey-White Rock go to the polls next Monday. The Liberals have high hopes for an upset victory in this longstanding Conservative B.C. seat

The Léger poll did show the gap between the Conservatives and the Liberals narrowing in Ontario. But with a provincial election in the offing for the first half of 2018 and the Tories in the lead, Scheer may be basking in the popularity of his Ontario counterpart.

The sight of the blood of a finance minister in the water may be blinding the Conservatives to the limits and the perils of the exercise.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is calling for Bill Morneau to step down as finance minister, citing a lack of answers to “a simple question” about a sale of shares ahead of a tax change announcement in 2015. (The Canadian Press)

Performance in question period is a poor predictor of electoral strength. Just ask Thomas Mulcair. Before the last election, the former NDP leader totally eclipsed Trudeau in the House. Mulcair also brought more gravitas to the role than Scheer has so far. And he had a juicy senate scandal that led all the way up to the prime minister’s office to play with. That was of little benefit in the last election.

By pivoting from public policy to personal politics, the Conservatives have made Morneau the issue rather than the government or its policies — and exposed some of their own longstanding vulnerabilities.

Many voters felt that the Harper Conservatives exhibited an unsightly mean streak over their years in government. In opposition, the virulence of the attacks on Morneau is increasingly getting in the way of Scheer articulating a coherent policy message, let alone distinguishing his party from its previous take-no-prisoners incarnation.

The Conservatives are not the first to bring a scorched earth approach to their role as official Opposition. Under John Turner in the mid-1980s, the so-called Liberal Rat Pack made life hell daily for Brian Mulroney’s rookie government, terminating the career of a number of Tory ministers in the process.

At the time of Harper’s first mandate, Stéphane Dion’s Liberals milked the past of then-foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier’s girlfriend for a lot more than it was worth.

But it is also a fact that neither Turner nor Dion has gone down in history as a strong or successful leader. Neither was gifted with an abundance of moral authority over his caucus. That is one of the reasons why they — like Scheer this fall — let their attack dogs run so free in question period.

Chantal Hébert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com